Knots Untied - Ryle - XI - Chapter 11

Required reading
Knots Untied by JC Ryle (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Chapter 11 (The Priest).

My summary
Today Ryle poses the question 'Do Christians have a priest?'  He answers this question by answering three further questions about Jesus.

The first question is 'Where is Jesus Christ now?'  The answers are:
(i) as God, he is everywhere;
(ii) as man, he is in heaven and not in the grave;
(iii) as man, he is in heaven and not on the communion table.

The second question is 'What is Jesus Christ doing now?'  The answers are:
(i) ever presenting the merits of His sacrifice for us before God;
(ii) ever interceding for us in heaven;
(iii) presenting the names of His people continually before His father;
(iv) presenting the prayers and services of His people before God;
(v) ever doing the work of a Friend;
(vi) continually doing the work of a Receiver of sinners and a mediator between God and man.

The third question is 'What is Jesus Christ going to do before the end of the world?'  The answers are:
(i) he will come bodily;
(ii) he will come with power and great glory;
(iii) he will come to judge.

What grabbed me
Ryle (and Owen) made an interesting comment about Satan's hatred for Jesus' office of high priest: '"There is no office of Christ," said John Owen, "that Satan labours so hard to obscure and overthrow as His priestly one." Satan cares little, comparatively, for Christ the Prophet, and Christ the King, so long as he can persuade man to forget Christ the Priest. For ever let us stand fast on this point. That Christ is carrying on the office of a Priest in heaven, is the crown and glory of Christian theology.'

If you forget Jesus' priesthood all is lost and you are dead in your sins!

Next week's reading
Read Chapter 12 (Confession).

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.